It is an important task of the state to protect the lives of its citizens until the end and to enable them to end their lives with dignity. However, politicians must not presume to prevent people who are capable of dying of their own free will from ending their own lives and being helped to do so. Erwin Kress, Vice President of the Humanist Association of Germany, reminded the members of the German Bundestag of this in an appeal on Friday. In a letter, Kress called on the members of parliament to assume their responsibility for objectifying the social and political debate on the legal regulation of assisted suicide. One reason for the appeal is that the governing coalition temporarily suspended the adoption of a law on the criminalization of the commercial promotion of suicide due to a lack of agreement on the scope of the ban on assisted suicide at the end of January. Representatives of the churches, parts of the CDU and other forces had previously repeatedly called for the Federal Ministry of Justice’s draft to be tightened up and for it to be banned as far as possible. The Humanist Association of Germany as well as numerous other organizations expressed their opposition to the demands and also to the draft bill presented. In his appeal, Erwin Kress once again pointed out to MPs that it is not enough to ensure that people are not induced to commit suicide. In addition to the obligation to protect autonomy and human dignity, he named two further tasks that politicians must face in order to resolve the debate on assisted suicide. For example, it must ensure that people do not have to fear an undignified life in a nursing home. It is also necessary to provide counselling for people in seemingly hopeless situations and not to make suicide wishes taboo through rigid prohibitions. All experience has shown that removing the taboo on suicide can have a considerable prophylactic effect. Kress: “Protecting the lives of elderly and seriously ill people who want to end their lives in a seemingly hopeless situation does not mean drugging them and locking them up if necessary. Rather, they must be taken seriously and alternatives must be sought together with them, but they must not be left alone if they are convinced of their wish to end their lives.” He therefore referred to the alternative draft presented by the HVD on the legal regulation of assisted suicide as well as the anthology “Suizidhilfe als Herausforderung – Arztethos und Strafbarkeitsmythos” (Assisted suicide as a challenge – medical ethics and the myth of criminal liability) published last year in the series of publications of the Humanistische Akademie Berlin. This was sent to all members of the German Bundestag in December. The volume, edited by psychologist Dr. Gita Neumann, Patient and Care Representative of the HVD and Head of the Federal Central Office for Advance Directives, contains medical, ethical and psychological positions from a practical perspective as well as personal statements from those affected on the controversial topic of assisted suicide, combined with legal clarifications and humanistic solutions. “Existing uncertainty and fears among the population and among doctors do not lead to less suffering,” Kress concluded in the HVD’s appeal to the members of the German Bundestag.
“Rather, they contribute to uncontrollable measures in the shadows, such as avoidable human disasters.” Politicians must counteract this and face up to the associated tasks.
